While you’re all waiting for the next update on the Northwest regatta, check out the ice today in the “Middle of Nowhere,” Fort Peck Lake, Glasgow Montana–the site of the inaugural Hard Water Summit, March 13 – 18. It’s a balmy 17 degrees below zero today. The light snow that fell recently has been nearly blown clear. Ice thickness, 20-24″. The typical warm weather days will be polishing up the ice for us over the next couple weeks. You’re not going to want to miss this one!
Also, standby for official registration to open today or tomorrow. Be advised that March is high school tournament season, so the size of our guaranteed room block is limited. Jump on it because you’re not going to want to miss this one. (And Andy Gratton will confirm it’s a little chilly sleeping in a tent on the ice).
See you out west!
Signed Your Summit Team,
Daniel Hearn, Sean Heavey and Deb Whitehorse
The last couple weeks many of us have gotten our first ice time for the season. There was an epic weekend in Madison, so check out the 4LIYC Facebook page for amazing visuals from a number of photographers/videographers who showed up to capture the excitement. Our friends in Michigan and Ohio also got a bunch of sailing in. And our friends in the northeast were looking to pull off the Doc Fellows Regatta. Haven’t heard if that happened, or not.
The upcoming weekend looks to be exciting, too, with the International Skeeter Association Regatta tentatively called on for Lake Mendota, in Madison Friday through Sunday. And starting on Sunday, January 23, the DN National Championships, likely somewhere in the Central Region, are slated to kick off.
As long as we’re in the groove, check out our playpen for the Hard Water Summit in Glasgow, Montana this March. This footage was also shot over last weekend. That’s miles and miles of hard water, ice junkies! And 25 below zero last week had to have built some major thickness. Video link here.
You’re not going to want to miss this one! If you’re interested, visit the event website and fill out our short survey. 80 sailors have already done so. How about you?
With the chill in the air and the shallower lakes starting to change form, no doubt many of you are dreaming of the ice sailing season ahead. If you haven’t already, now is the time to mark your calendar for the 2022 Hard Water Summit in Montana, this March. If this event is news to you, check out the details at https://montana.iceboat.org/
The event will take place during one of the first three weeks of March–
March 14-18 Target Week
March 7-11 Earliest Option
March 21-25 Latest Option
As we get closer to these dates and conditions are known, a call will be made. So, keep your schedules loose and be ready to go. We’ll be headed to “The Middle of Nowhere”, from all over the country and other parts of the world. All ice sailors are welcome. There are 73 already registered!
If you’re interested in being on our list for ongoing information, please subscribe by filling out the short survey on our website.
The city of Glasgow, Montana is looking forward to hosting our group with great enthusiasm. So much so, that the Glasgow Tourism Board has awarded us a sizable grant to help make the event spectacular. In addition to epic ice sailing, plans are underway for nightly social events, daily adventures for ice sailors’ guests who prefer other activities, and much more.
If you’re headed to the Great Western Challenge next week, bring your local knowledge questions, as Sean Heavey, Glasgow, Montana resident and ice sailing photographer/videographer extraordinaire will be there. https://www.seanrheavey.com/ Sean is bringing all his hi-tech gear, including his new video-equipped racing drone that is fast enough to keep up with any iceboat. You’ll see from Sean’s website that he is also a storm chaser, so this guy knows how to shoot extreme!
Stay safe everyone and hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving.
Daniel Hearn
Like KID ROCK, “he’s a Michigan boy, can feel that? Matt Struble now calls San Diego home, but he’ll always be a Midwesterner at heart. And he’s a sailing phenom. A multi-time DN World and US Champion on hard water. Countless catamaran titles in multiple classes on soft water. And more recently, since it’s hard to find hard water in San Diego, he’s tearing up the Moth circuit. Matt hasn’t actively campaigned a DN in years, yet he’s still an expert guest on SailJuice.com, sharing all his go-fast DN secrets with our Canadian buddy, Mike Madge. (Mike’s up der in Thunder Bay, eh, and he’s a really good guy. Check out the interviews if you haven’t seen them already). Take notice…Matt is planning on the Hardwater Summit next March. In spite of his layoff, odds are the rest of the DN fleet will be fighting for places 2 and below. If you’re going to get waxed, it’s not bad getting the beat down from Matt. He’s as soft-spoken and humble as he is good. Reminds me of another Michigan athlete, Barry Sanders, who simply handed the football to the ump after every touchdown. When you’re that good, I guess you can act like you’ve been there before.
But what if you’ve never been there before? No worries, the Hard Water Summit is still for you. Take French sailing superstar, Benoit Marie. He’s the reigning French Moth and A-Class Foiling Catamaran Champion. In 2018, having never sailed an iceboat, he showed up at the DN Worlds, outfitted with equipment and tips from Vaiko Voreema of Estonia. With no ranking, Benoit sailed as a rookie in both the Silver and Gold Fleet qualifiers, advancing both times up to the Gold Fleet. And he ultimately finished the World Championships in an impressive 35th position. Oui, oui…it appears the guy has talent. Always seeking the next adrenaline rush, now Benoit wants to try a C-Skeeter. Thanks to international ice sailing coordinator, Deb Whitehorse, he’s going to get his chance at the Summit.
Gareth finds the English Pub in Irkutsk, Siberia.
But what if your style is a bit more…let’s call it…flamboyant? Take our friend Gareth Rowland who’s coming to the Summit from England. I’m not sure if Gareth has ever won a race, but ask anyone…he always wins the party. His ice sailing regatta attire routinely includes Union Jack adorned sports coats, top hats, kilts and the like. And, no, I have no idea what he wears under the kilt, but if you come to the Summit, there’s a good chance you’ll find out.
We just learned there is a chance we will be competing for hotel rooms next March with the Montana State High School Wrestling Tournament. As you know, our dates are fluid within a 3-week window; the wrestling authorities have yet to choose their date.
To put us in the best position to negotiate a block of rooms well in advance, please fill out our survey, IF you are a likely participant. In the event we are forced to “ration” rooms in our block, we will do so based on the chronology of survey submission (i.e., earliest survey respondents will get first-right-of-refusal on reserved rooms).
Have you started building your new boat yet for the event?
